Birds and Boats
by Meidinophobia
Summary: Being a firefighter is not an easy job. Especially when you lose the most important person in your life. After Makoto dies while on duty, Haru is left to pick up the pieces and move on. Problem is..she can't. When Rin comes back from Australia, the most difficult task on his hands is stitching her heart back together. (Fem!Haru. MakoHaru/RinHaru. Unmentioned character death!)
1. Chapter 1

Being a fire fighter wasn't an easy job. Whenever Makoto was called out on duty, Haruka would wait in their apartment all night long. Unsure if he'd come back or not. It didn't matter how tired she got. She would wait. Somehow, he always found his way back home. Sometimes with tears in his eyes. Sometimes covered in soot and smelling like the flames he worked to put out and other times Makoto would walk through the front door with a weak smile on his lips and be completely exhausted. On those nights, they would curl up on the couch with some ice cream and watch T.V until one of them fell asleep in each other's arms. Those moments were undeniably Makoto's favourite.

Yeah, it wasn't easy working to keep every one safe, but Haru appreciated his hard work. Makoto knew that. On his days off, he and Haru would spend their free time at the pool, helping little kids to swim or to improve their techniques. Makoto enjoyed the sight of see Haruka being bombarded with children. They seemed to like her as much as she liked them. Both of them were rather good with children, but the motherly gene was clearly brought out in Haruka. They often did talk about starting a family, but it was far too soon to think about that just yet. Sitting on the edge of the pool, Makoto couldn't help but smile when he saw Haru holding the tiny hands of a child and guiding them through the shallow end of the pool. It was an adorable sight. The child frantically clinging to Haruka as she continued to guide him. Crying that he was going to drown, but Haruka continued to reassure him until they reached the end of the lane. When the child realized that he swam, he rejoiced with his friends and climbed out.

Makoto was hardly paying attention to anything else, but when he noticed that she dove under the water, he watched as her figure made its way over to where he was sitting. Popping her head out of the water, she was right in between his legs. Smiling, he leaned down to press a gentle kiss against her lips, the taste of her pomegranate lip balm and pool chlorine mixed together. "_Ready to go?" _ He asked, already knowing the answer. It was a difficult task to get Haru out of the water, but it seemed to get easier and easier as each day passed on. Standing up, he held his hands out to her, which she reluctantly took. Instead of pulling her out, she pulled him in. Letting out a small scream, Makoto hit the water. Once his head popped out of the water, gagging and gasping for air, Haru was already out and drying herself off. Haruka didn't even bother to change out of her bathing suit and just placed her clothes over it. Although he should be mad at her, Makoto let out a small chuckle. Things never change, do they? Climbing out of the pool, he used her towel to dry off - wishing he had bought and extra pair of clothes. Once finished, he grabbed their bags and the pair started their way home.

Unlocking the door to their apartment, Haru dropped her things besides the door and made her way to the bathroom. "_Showering."_ She muttered, shutting the door behind her. Dropping his own things besides hers, Makoto wandered over to the bedroom to change. Just donning in a pair of sweatpants before going over to the sofa and plopped down onto it. Listening to the sounds of running water, he sighed as he laid down against the cushions and fell asleep. Though, his nap only lasted for a few minutes before he felt pressure on his abdomen and cold water dripping on his face. Opening olive green eyes, he saw Haruka hovering over him. Back length hair drenched and she was wearing one of his work shirts.

A tired smile formed on his lips as his hands reached up to hold her hips. Leaning down, the blacknette pressed a butterfly kiss against the other's lips, Makoto leaned his head up slightly to return the gesture, rolling over onto his side slowly, the female rolling off his pelvic bone to right besides him. Automatically, Haru curled up against his body, nuzzling her head into his chest. Smiling to himself, Makoto wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to his own as he used his other arm as a pillow. Burying his nose into her hair, he breathed in the scent of water lilies that held a faint scent of chlorine which quickly pulled him back into sleep. They always spent the day sleeping in each other's arms on Makoto's days off..It was relaxing and well deserved. Haru liked falling asleep on her side of the bed and wake up in the morning entangled in Makoto's arms. Just as they are now. Makoto loved breathing in her scent and holding her lithe body. She was just the perfect size to fit him. Like a puzzle, almost. A perfect, beautiful little puzzle piece.

It was dark by the time Makoto woke up again. The phone was ringing. Haruka was still asleep besides him, which made it even more difficult to get up. Crawling over her, being careful not to knock her onto the floor. Stretching tired muscles, the brunet made his way to the still ringing phone and answered it. "_Tachibana residence."_ He spoke behind a yawn. Occasionally looking over his shoulder to check if Haru was still asleep. In the darkness, he could see that she was shifting.

"_I thought it was my day off. Can you get anyone else?"_ Makoto desperately spoke. Unknowingly waking up the female. Work. A long sigh escaped his mouth before he spoke out again. "_Alright..give me a few minutes."_ He hung up the phone and made his way to the bedroom to get his uniform on.

Opening ocean blue eyes, it was hard to see anything-except for the blinding light that suddenly popped out of the bedroom the two shared. "-_Makoto?"_ She whispered tiredly as she sat up.

Coming out of the bedroom, the brunet was putting on his jacket. Looking over to the couch, he saw Haru was awake. "_Sorry, I'm called out. I'll be back soon."_ He told her in a tiny whisper, going over to the couch to press a gentle kiss against her forehead. "_Just go back to sleep."_ He said against the female's forehead. "_I love you."_ He whispered with a chaste kiss to her lips as he put on his shoes and walked out the front door.

Instead of falling back asleep, Haruka simply waited. The hours passed, the moon was rising higher in the sky. Makoto was still gone. Must be a heavy duty fire, then. Sighing softly, she got up from her seat. While on her way to the kitchen, she stopped as the phone began to rang again. ..Who would bother calling this late at night? Oh well. It didn't matter. It was probably Makoto just checking in. Yawning, she went over to the phone and answered it. "_Hello?"_

"_Is this Haruka Nanase?"_ That..wasn't Makoto.

"_Speaking."_ She replied. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity as she leaned against the arm of the couch. Considering it wasn't Makoto calling her..this was bad and the news she received wasn't any better.

"_We're sorry, but Makoto won't be returning home."_


	2. Chapter 2

It's been nearly two months since the funeral. No one has heard or seen from Haruka. Not her grandmother. Not even her parents or Makoto's. It was like she vanished off the face of the earth.

"_I don't think this is a good idea.."_ Rei spoke, his voice barely above a whisper as he followed the short blond up the stairs in the building.

Nagisa just rolled his eyes. "_Stop worrying! It's not going to hurt anyone."_ He explained, fishing for something in his bag.

Despite being told not to worry, Rei was even more nervous. "_But what if she's not home?"_

"_Then, we'll just use the spare!"_ Nagisa chimed happily, successfully pulling the small spare key from the bottom of his bag.

When they arrived at the door to the former couple's apartment, Nagisa happily banged on the door, calling 'Haru-chan!' every few seconds with each knock. Haru never answered. "_I guess she's not home.."_ Nagisa said with mock disappointment.

"_Great, then let's go before we're seen!"_ Rei tried to leave, but Nagisa kept hold of his arm as he flashed the key in his vision.

"_Not yet! We're going in."_ He chimed, unlocking the door and opened it, revealing the darkness from inside.

Walking past the door, the pair dropped their bags by the door and turned on the lights. While Rei mostly hung out by the door, Nagisa went to go explore around the apartment. "_Wow. They really changed.."_ He mused, looking to the walls that held multiple picture frames. Some contained pictures from when Makoto and Haru were in high school, others had them in college..and even some from birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, ect. While others held pictures of their families, some of the swim club, and some of friends they've made at Uni.

One picture in particular caught Nagisa's eyes; it was of them together in a pool from uni, Makoto held Haru out of the water with his arms around her slim waist while her arms were wrapped around his neck. They were kissing. They were happy. A smile tugged at Nagisa's lips as he turned back to Rei, who was still by the door. Beyond uncomfortable.

"_We should go, Nagisa. It's rude to just barge into someone's home."_

_"Stop being such a worry-wort. She's bound to come home eventually." _Nagisa said, a grin on his lips as he turned his attention to the blue-haired boy, still looking anxious.

"_Nagisa-kun, we really shouldn't be here.."_ Rei said, walking into the living room to examine the little artifacts they had on the bookshelves. A crystal dolphin figurine held a set of books up, while an orca plush held up the ends.

Nagisa rolled his eyes again, picking up one of the frames. The frame held two pictures; the first was the last picture they took together as a team when they were still in high school. The second was of Makoto, Haru and Rin - their arms around Haruka's waist and her arms around their necks, holding them close. In black, there was writing from everyone, wishing them good luck in college and held phone numbers they could call.

".._I can't believe Mako-chan's gone, though."_ Nagisa muttered, setting the picture down. A frown replaced his smile and tears nearly burned his eyes.

Rei looked over at the short blond and frowned. Walking over to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "_Don't worry, Nagisa. We still have memories, right?"_

Nagisa simply nodded, raising a hand to wipe away the tears in his eyes as he turned to the other and smiled.

Opening the door of the apartment building, Haruka sighed heavily as she climbed the stairs with her arms full of groceries. Climbing up to her floor, she blinked in curiosity when she noticed that her door was open and the lights..on? Carefully walking to the door, ocean blues widened in surprise when she saw who was in her apartment.

".._Nagisa? Rei?"_ She muttered in surprise. Hearing their names being called, the two looked towards the door. Nagisa earned a wide smile while Rei seemed to be still ever worrying.

When Haruka put the groceries on the table, she was nearly on the floor by the force of Nagisa's tackle hug. "_Haru-chan!"_

Haru reluctantly returned the hug that suffocated the small girl. Looking towards Rei. "_What are you two doing here..?"_

"_Your parents were getting worried. You weren't answering their calls or responding to their emails. Not even your grandmother's." _Rei said, worry growing in his eyes.

"_..You came all the way to make sure I was alright?"_ Haru asked, somewhat surprised.

The two simply nodded with wide smiles on their faces. When Haru finally managed to get her groceries away, she made tea and they sat at the table to talk. Nagisa was still indecisive about his future. Rei was accepted to Tokyo University of Science. Gou was still at Iwatobi going for her third year - apparently the swim club was somehow still thriving. As for Haru, she was still at the University, studying art, still swimming, and a rising sophomore.

Ever since Makoto died, Haru hasn't really had the chance to go out and enjoy herself. With working at a restaurant part time, she pulled in extra hours to pay for the apartment. So, Nagisa and Rei took it upon themselves to make sure that she would have a night out. Just the three of them for old time's sake.

_"Get changed, we're going out!"_ Nagisa declared, grabbing Haruka's wrist and nearly ripped her arm off from dragging her to the bedroom.

"_W-wait Nagisa!"_ Haruka screamed, but it fell on deaf ears when Nagisa started to rummage through her closet. Pulling out a black dress, strapless and had ruffles at the bottom. Nagisa practically had to force the dress onto her as he did her hair and stabbed earrings through her lobes.

Out the door they went after everyone got dressed. They dragged her out to a night club, thankfully every one was of age. The entire building smelt of alcohol, sweat, and sex. It made Haru nauseous as the cheery blond dragged her through the crowds. If Haru wasn't being dragged, she would have slapped whoever decided to grab at her.

The trio sat their coats at a random table, they had a few shots and off they went into the crowd to dance. They would have dragged Haru, but she didn't feel comfortable enough to start dancing just yet. They stayed within her line of vision as they left, hoping that she would join them eventually - but never did. While Nagisa and Rei were dancing, Haru felt a twinge of claustrophobia as she sighed and grabbed her coat from the chair and tugged it on. On her way out, however, she was violently bumped into and alcohol - mainly beer was poured all over the front of her dress.

The man who bumped into her nearly dropped the bottle when he realized what had happened."_Jesus! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!"_

Although the girl was annoyed that her dress got ruined, she sighed heavily. _"Don't worry about it, it happens."_

The man simply shook his head. "_I'm really sorry, let me make it up to you?" _He offered an award winning smile. Haru couldn't help but feel as though she's seen those eyes before..but she couldn't pin point on _where._

When the black light was lifted, actual light began to light the dance floor, and the strangers could finally see one another's face. Recognizing who he was talking to, the boy's eyes widened in surprise.

".._Haru?" _No way, it couldn't have been her! She was far too different to be the Haru he knew in high school. Dark hair tied in a bun, her bangs were in the way of those _stunning_ crystals she called eyes. Figures, the red head had to run into his friend by pouring beer all over her.

Hearing her name being called, she saw a flash of red thanks to the light. Although she knew those eyes were so familiar..She only knew two people who had ruby red eyes but the last she knew..one of them was in Australia. No, it couldn't have been..

"_Rin..?"_

Upon hearing that she apparently recognized him, a wide grin crossed the red head's lips and grabbed hold of her hand. "_C'mon, let's go somewhere we can talk."_ He said, not even waiting for an answer before he began to lead the girl out of the club and to a small coffee shop. Sitting down across one another, they ordered some coffee as they talked.

"_Heh. The last place I imagined you'd be is in a club, Haruka."_ He teased, bringing the cup to his lips.

Haru simply shrugged her shoulders. "_Nagisa and Rei brought me out..To help relax, I guess."_

Rin raised an eyebrow at her. "_Is it working?"_

_"I didn't dance, got harassed by several guys for my number, and I got beer poured on me. What do you think?"_

The red head chuckled and shrugged. "_Touche." _Though, if he was there when he saw her getting harassed, he would have jumped in sooner. Still, he wasn't even aware that she was even there until he bumped into her.

The female simply looked at the cup in front of her, her fingers toying with the handle. "_What brings you back to Japan? I thought you were staying in Australia."_

_"I was, until I found out that I missed home."_ Well, Tokyo wasn't 'home', but he returned a couple weeks ago and he was just starting to move back.

Haru simply nodded her head. "_Welcome home,"_

"_Thank you."_ Rin grinned, but the grin faded when he remembered that she didn't mention Makoto. "_So, where's Makoto? Too busy to take you out these days, huh?" _He mused, drinking some more of his coffee.

At the mention of Makoto, Haru fell silent. That's right..no one told Rin about him. Well, no one expected Rin to come back from Australia, so no one bothered to tell him. Not even Gou. ".._Makoto's dead."_

Hearing the announcement, Rin felt his blood run cold. "_..Really?"_ He asked out of surprise. "_..I'm sorry for your loss."_ He could only offer a small smile as he reached over to gently grab hold of Haru's hand. Great, he felt like an asshole. How come no one told him?!

Haruka simply shook her head. "_Don't worry about it. You didn't know."_ She muttered, releasing his hand. Then, ensued the awkward silence. Taking a few sips of her coffee, Haru brought the conversation back to life in order to avoid the silence anymore. "_So, are you all settled in?"_

"_A-ah..not really."_ Rin was living in a hotel for the time being. Just until he found a roommate, that is. Which, apparently, was harder than he originally thought. Still, at least he ran into familiar faces.

"_..I have a spare room, if you want."_ She offered, looking away in mild embarrassment. It was better than allowing him to live elsewhere. He didn't know Tokyo as well as Haru did..plus, she couldn't afford the apartment on her own.

Rin blinked at her. Well, it was better than living in a hotel room all by himself. Besides, he could use the opportunity to get to know Haru all over again. Earning a grin, he simply nodded his head. "_You're the best, Haru. Thank you."_

_"You're welcome."_ Haru nodded, earning a smile of her own as she drank her coffee in silence. Hoping quietly that this wouldn't be the worst idea she's ever had.


End file.
